England players: Tuchel warns EPL managers, takes dig at Arsenal over Rice

England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, has warned Premier League managers over the use of England players.

Tuchel also took a subtle dig at Arsenal over the use of England midfielder, Declan Rice in the Gunners’ UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against PSV as an example of how Premier League clubs are guilty of looking after their own interests over the national team.

The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager spoke at his pre-match press conference ahead of England’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Latvia on Monday.

He said, “I know that this window, this camp, is where the clubs play a very crucial time of the season.

“They play for championships, they play for quarter-finals in the Champions League.

“I always accepted it as a club manager. I never got involved in line-ups, I never pushed any national coach because I was hoping that my players would get picked, I was also hoping that they are proud to play.

“Of course, you are never happy if something happens. No-one can predict that there is no accident, but we have a World Cup qualifier and we will take responsible decisions.”

“After a 7-1 first leg and Declan Rice played the next match with Arsenal, I didn’t have the feeling that they think so much about us,” Tuchel added, pointing to the recent Champions League tie between Arsenal and PSV.

“I don’t think we have to break our heads about this. I take care about the players. We take care about the schedule, but it would be the wrong signal to tell players now, ‘Hey, you have tough matches coming up, so I rest you now’.

“We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us. We monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs, we are in high-level monitoring where the status is and we will not take any unprofessional risks.

“Because first of all I feel responsible for the players. I don’t want the player to be injured, I want the player to play quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it.

“So, this is where it is and in the end we take care about us and the clubs take care about themselves and the main focus is taking care of the players.”